Disappearing grain-car door.



No. 661,713. I Patented Nov. l3, I900.

. T. a. cocxmes.

DISAPPEARING GRAIN CAR DOOR.

(Application. filed July 13, 1900.)

(NoModeU a /QM? UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS G. COCKINGS, OF NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

DISAPPEARING .G RAIN-CAR DOOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of LettersPatent No. 661,713, dated November 13, 1900.

Application filed July 13, 1900. Serial No. 23,474. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS G. COOKINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newport, in the State of Kentucky, have invent-- ed a certain new and useful Improved Oar- Door, of which the following is a specification.

and a section of the car on line 00 as of Fig. I,-

showing the arrangement of the channel-iron guides for the sliding door. Fig. III is a view of the lever for withdrawing the bolts 10 seen from the opposite side to that in Fig. I. Fig. IV is a cross-section of the lower partof the door on line 2' z of Fig. VI, showing the toggle-joint action of the lower slats in opening. Fig. V is a horizontal section on line y y of Fig. VI. Fig. VI is a perspective and section of a lower corner of the door, showing the fittings and the bolt 10, due.

I have found certain imperfections in the present systems of car-closu res, such as the binding of the door in the act of opening, the clogging up of the runways in the horizontal sliding door, the exposure to danger of breaking in the present vertical sliding doors and interference with free access to the car when open, and the fact that owing to their position and form it was difficult or impossible to use steam-power in the operation of opening. The ordinary method of using double doors in order to make complete the closure against rain and sparks, with the inner seal composed of boards nailed on anew at each filling of the car, was expensive, troublesome, and injurious to the car itself, besides requiring tools and much labor to open the door.

The great difliculty has been to construct a door which allows of easy filling of the car and yet when filled provides for opening with ease and without the use of tools. All of the present doors are prevented from open ing because of the pressure and friction on the door itself by the grain.

I have sought to make a car-door that is drawings accompanying this specification.

open and when opened is concealed and out of the way of harm, and is no hindrance to the handling of the freight. To this end I have invented the device illustrated in the 1 represents the body of the car, and 14 is the roof. On the sides of the doorway therein are provided channel-iron runways 6 6, which are screwed or bolted to the timber and at the top are bent in a curve running up and back under the roof, being attached to a rafter or other beam, as 16, Fig. II. The runway on one side of the car overlaps the runway on the other, so that the sliding doors may both be open and out of the way at once. The shape of the runway and its mode of attachment may be made as shown in V.

The dooritself may be made in two sections, as 2 3, andis built up of slats or bars 78, fitted together by a knuckle-joint, as shown in Fig. VI, and held together by flexible cords or Wire cables 24. The ends of the slats or bars 7 are fitted to run easily in the ways 6, and the bend in these runways atthe hip of the car-roof lie within the cross-planking4 above the top of the door-opening, so that there is no chance of rain or sparks blowing in.

The door may be made in two sections, as shown, detachable by releasing thehook 5, so that for filling the car the upper section 2 can be pushed up, while the lower half 3, rising to a point above the grain-line, remains in place, or an auxiliary door may be made near the top, while the main door is all in one section. Near the bottom of the slatted door I may provide a number of small re lief-doors, hinged and locked in any convenient manner, which are for the purpose of withdrawing a small quantity of grain or for relieving the pressure of grain on the main door when it is to be raised and entirely opened; but I prefer to accomplish the first operation in opening the door1. a, the relieving of the pressure of the grain-by the following device: The lower slat 8 may be wider than the others. It fits either in a seen in Fig. VI.

as at 29 in Fig. VI.

slats from being pushed out by the grain, I

a 'ecihi the knuckle-joint, between the second and third slats from the bottom, the outside flange of the channel-iron 6 is cut away and shaped To hold these bottom mayuse the bolts 10, WhlCll'SlidG through eyes 9 and enter openings 21 in the side-post of the door. For withdrawing these boltsI use a lever 11, which is pivoted to the door and has a depending handle 28. The inner ends of the bolts 10 are pivoted by pins to the flaring head of the lever 11, as shown at Fig. III. locking of the arm 28 to the eye 12, as by a padlock 13. It will be seen that when the arm 28 is pulled sidewise after unlocking the. bolts 10 will be withdrawn from their sockets.

Thereupon the pressure of the grain inside will push out the slats 7 and 8, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. IV, when the lower slat may rise from its seat and swing out,

allowing the escape of the grain, and conse-.

quently relieving all pressure on the door. The lower slats will now easily swing back, and as they slide under the lip 29 back into the channel 6 the door is easily opened. The

opening of the door is thus accomplishedby asimple sidewise pull on the lever-arm28 and no tools arerequired.

The door may be provided with flexible weather-strips 28 on the inside which the pressure of the grain will hold down to close the interstices around the edges.

It willbe observed that once the door is raised there are no cracks either in the door or in the fittings in which grain may'lodge, and no part of the apparatus projects to be broken. off or injured and nowhere is there any need for nails or other fastening than ticed that an entire door can be at once removed or put in place by simply running it out over the upper (inner) ends of the guideways 6 6' into the car.

Having thus fully described my invention, I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim 1. The combination with a closed car of two flexible slatted doors sliding upward to open from below and overlapping under-the roof of the car, said doors being provided with means for opening a port at the bottom by displacing'one of the said slats by the inside pressure on the door.

2. A car-door completely closing the doorspace and composed of slats strung together, sliding in runways to-open vertically and overlap under the roof, the bottom slats thereof being held in position partially by bolts so that on releasing said bolts the said slats The lever is held in place by the may be pushed outward by the inside pressure on the door and open a port for the re- Net of the said pressure before sliding the door upward. V

3. The combination with a closed car of two single flexible slatted doors, one on each side, sliding in runways upward and then in under the root of the car, and each having a hinged relief-port atvthe bottom, opening outward by the inside pressure on the door, with means for holding the said swinging section normally in place. v f

4. The combination with a closed car of two flexible slatted doors whose edges slide in runways upward and under the roof, having means for a subsidiary opening in-the upper part-thereof for loading the car, and each provided with a relief-port near the bottom which swings out by the inside pressure on the door when released from the fastening to its normal. position, as described.

5. A flexible slatted car-door sliding upward in runways, and having one or more-oi its lowest slats jointed to act in the manner of toggle-levers, held in place by the combined action of a bottom seatingcatch, the pressure from the superposed slats, and a bolt engaging afixed socket outside the door opposite the lowest slat, so that on withdrawing the said bolt from its socket the lower .slat may rise from its seating-catch and be swung out by the inside pressure,automatically opening a relief-port.

6. A flexible slatted car-door completely filling the door-space and opening by-sliding upwardly into the car, and provided at its bottom with two toggle-jointed sections seated on a groove-and-tenon joint, held inward by a bolt,-so that on releasing the said bolt the sections break at the said joint and the bottomslat swings out without raising the-superposed slats of the door.

7. The combination with-a car-door of a relief-port composed of slats forming a toggle-joint, held in normal position by a bolt and a seating-catch at the bottom, sothat on a toggle-jointed pair of slats v7, 8, a bottom seating-catch25, a sliding bolt 10 with means for withdrawing the same, and the runways 6, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunder signed my name in the presence of two wit- HGSSGS.

THOMAS G. OOOKINGS. Attest:

OHAs. H. URBAN, GREEN CLAY. 

